Wall fixture mounting means



March 21, 1961 E. J. KOKENGE WALL FIXTURE MOUNTING MEANS Filed Dec. 26, 1956 INVENTOR.

fLMH? J. Irma/v6 BY L/l/ III //I United rates .i atent WALL FIXTURE MOUNTING MEANS Elmer J. Kokenge, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Schulte Brass Manufacturing Co., Inc., Norwood, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Dec. 26, 1956, Ser. No. 630,656

4 Claims. (Cl. 50-22) This invention relates to improvements in brackets for attaching wall fixtures to a wall and particularly to a tiled wall.

In the past in order to secure wall brackets to a tiled wall it has been necessary to break the tile to the extent of providing an opening for the reception of cementitious material that had to be utilized for securing the attaching bracket to which the wall fixture was subsequently secured.

By the present invention there is provided a wall bracket that may be secured in operative position without in any manner mutilating the wall tiles.

This invention is improvements on the structure disclosed in the application of John T. Mouille, Sr., filed December 3, 1956, Serial Number 625,895.

It is therefore the principal object of the present invention to provide a wall fixture attaching bracket that can be secured in position without in any manner multilating, damaging, or cutting the tile.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a Wall fixture attaching bracket that cooperates with the tiles of the tiled wall for securing same in operative position.

A further object of the present inventon is the provision of a wall fixture attaching bracket that is economical to produce and economical to mount in operative position thereby material reducing the cost of installing wall fixture supporting and retaining brackets.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a wall fixture attaching bracket that cooperates with ad jacent tiles in being secured in position and which bracket is arranged to mount the fixture at the joint of said tiles for a more pleasing effect with respect thereto.

. Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent by reference to the following specification considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, and it is to be understood that any modifications may be made in the exact structural details there shown and described, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from v or exceeding the spirit of the invention.

. In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fragment of a tiled wall showing a wall fixture in operative position thereon. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the wall fixture with itsfmounting bracket in operative position as seen in line 2-2 of Fig. 1. i Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the wall fixture in operative position asseen from line 3-3 on Fig. 2.

. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the wall fixture mounting bracket of the present invention.

1' Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the wall fixture mounting bracketof the present invention as seen from line 5-5 on Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a wall fixture mounting bracket showing a modification therein.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the modified bracket as seen from line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

' tion.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view, similar to Fig. 2, of a wall fixture mounting modified to cooperate with the modified wall fixture mounting bracket of Figs. 6 and 7.

Throughout the several views of the drawings similar reference characters are employed to denote the same or similar parts.

As was noted above this invention pertains to an improved wall fixture mounting bracket and particularly to such a bracket as employed with walls formed of a plurality of tiles such as ceramic tiles, metal tiles and the like. It should be here noted that by wall fixture is meant any fixture utilizable on a wall for holding an article or for holding a decoration such as the towel bar illustrated in the drawings but including a glass holder, a toothbrush holder, a book, a shelf bracket, an individual towel ring, and any other fixture as heretofore known and employed in bathrooms, kitchens and the like.

As is well known a tiled wall is the interior finish of a wall and comprises a plurality of individual tiles 10 which are rectangular in plan and are generally square. The said tiles are connected to the wall proper 11 through a mastic or grout and which material is generally employed between adjacent edges of the individual tiles for securing them to one another and which grouting joint is indicated by the reference numeral 12. The thickness of the grout joint 12 is quite small by comparison with the area of the individual tile and is measured in thousandths of an inch and is generally less than a sixteenth of an inch although this particular measurement is of no appreciable consequence insofar as the present invention is concerned.

Wall fixtures may be located at most any point on the wall depending upon its utility and its convenience with respect to the other fixtures of the room although the said point of wall fixture locaton is generally selected near an edge of an individual tile for convenience in mounting and the present invention contemplates such locations. As a matter of fact the wall fixture by the present invention may be mounted centrally of the grout line between the tiles, thereby resulting in symmetry and appearance not heretofore possible.

Strictly for the purpose of illustration, and in no manner as a limitation, a towel bar 13 is illustrated as having its one end supported by an arm 14 which is secured to the wall by the improved wall bracket of the present invention. It should be noted that the bracket is secured to the wall at a point between two tiles located adjacent one another. It should be here noted that while the bracket is generally located between tiles that are vertically of one another it may be located between tiles that horizontal as when mounting a vertical grab bar. The towel bar arm 14 is a casting having near its outer end an opening 15 of the cross-section of the towel bar 13 to receive an end thereof. The inner end of the arm 14, similar to all other wall fixtures, is enlarged as at 16 and is provided with, at least, a hollow or recess 17 inwardly from its inner end. The said recess 17 has its upper wall 18 provided with an undercut 19 in the general form of a dovetail. The lower wall 20 of the recess I./' is devoid of the dovetail 19 having instead a substantially horizontal face 21, for a purpose to be subsequently pointed out. Extending angularly through the said fixture lower wall 20 is a securing screw 22 provided on its inner end with a cone-shaped end 23.

The wall bracket, receiving the fixture or arm 14, is indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 24 and may be generally designated as H-shaped in cross-sec- The H-shaped Wall bracket 24- is formed of a pair of parallel arms 25 and 26 in spaced-apart relation and joined by a horizontal portion 27. The spacing besuch as to eachreceive a tile 10. The rear or inward arm 25 and the bracket base 27 are.of relatively thin cross-section while the forward arm 26 is relatively thick and constitutes a mounting plate; it should be noted that the horizontal connecting portion 27 is of a thickness comparable with the usual spacing of the tiles from one another, such as the grout thickness 12 above referred to.

The outer or forward arm or mounting plate 26 of the bracket 24, as illustrated in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, has its upper edge in substantial alignment with the corresponding upper edge of the inward or hanging arm 25 with said upper end of the forward arm or mounting plate being provided with an inclined upper surface 28 and of substantially the same inclination as the dovetail slot 19 in the fixture arm 14. The said bracket forward arm or mounting plate 26, similarly, has its lower end in the plane of the lower end of the rear arm 25 although this is not necessarily controlling and the said lower end of the mounting plate 26 is likewise provided with an inclined surface 29.

From the foregoing, and as seen particularly in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, the said forward arm or mounting plate 26 is in cross-section, a true dovetail; and that the mounting bracket has a cross-section substantially H-shaped in cross-section. It should be noted however, that the mounting plate and hanging arms need not be of equal length but that either may be of greater length than the other as is necessary with larger type fixtures.

In practice the wall fixture recess flat face 21 is spaced from the dovetail recess or undercut 19 a distance that the fixture or arm 14 may be placed over the mounting plate 26 with its upper dovetail or inclined surface 28 and fixture dovetail recess 19 in engagement and with the inner or flat face 30 of the fixture or arm 14 against the outer surfaces of the wall tiles 10. The said fixture is then secured in operative position through the locking screw 22 which is screwed to interengage its coneshaped end 23 with the lower inclined face 29. It will be appreciated that the said cone-shaped end 23 of the screw 22 clamps on the inclined face 22 that said screw 22 and inclined face 29 act as cams for forcing the dovetail groove 19 into clamping engagement with the bracket dovetail 28 and at the same time forcing the fiat face 30 of the fixture or arm 14 against the faces of the tiles.

' The fixture mounting bracket 24, as just described and particularly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, is formed as an extruded aluminum casting and therefore as a one-piece construction.

The modified mounting bracket illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 consists in eliminating the upper inclined surface 28 from the forward arm or mounting plate 26' and providing said upper surface as a fiat surface 31.normal to the outward face of the said forward arm or mounting plate. inwardly from each end of the said surface 31 there is an upstanding lug 32 and 33.

The fixture or arm 14 for mounting onsaid mounting plate 26 is modified over that in Figs. 2 and '3 to the extent that the upper wall 18 has eliminated therefrom the undercut 19 and in its place the said Well is provided with a pair of upwardly extending sockets,-sucl1 as socket 34 illustrated in Fig. 8, and with said sockets having their axes spaced from one another the same distance as the axes of the lugs 32 and 33. The lower wall 20 of the said mounting bracket or arm 14' is provided with a clamping and securing screw 22 to cooperate with the inclined surface 29 of the mounting plate.

The mounting of the modified fixture or arm 14 on lugs 32 and 33 on the mounting bracket 24 with the' sockets 34 and the parts arethen'secured in operativeposition by the securingscrew 22 and particularly its cone shaped end 23 engaging with the wall mounting bracket 4+ inclined surface 29 for forcirig the flat inner surface 30 of the fixture against the surface of the wall.

It will be noted that the connecting member or portion 27 of each of the wall brackets is substantially, centrally, vertically, of the wall mounting bracket wherefore the said bracket will be arranged at the grout line between horizontal and vertical rows of tile. The fixture or supporting arm 1-4 and 14' have the recesses thereof developed about the axial center wherefore the said fixture or supporting arm 14 or 14' will be mounted in symmetry with respect to the mounting bracket and the said fixture will therefore substantially line up with the said grout line. This arrangement is particularly true of towel bars and the like but with respect to the mounting of any other fixture which either supports an item to upstand therefrom or depend therefrom the said supported item will. be upwardly of or downwardly from the said grout line thereby materially adding to the appearance of the wall on which these parts are mounted.

it will further be noted that by the present construction the wall bracket cooperates with wall tiles respectively located adjacent one another so that any tendency to dislodge the fixture or its wall bracket, Whether in an upwardly or downwardly direction, the said action will be resisted in part by each of the vertically aligned tiles. In other words a force tending to dislodge the fixture or its mounting bracket in a downward direction will be resisted by the lower end of the fixture base against the lower tile or tiles and said force will likewise be resisted by the upper portion of the inner or mounting arm 26 against the inner surface of the upper tile or tiles, and conversely, any force tending to dislodge the fixture and acting upwardly would be resisted by the upper end of the base of the fixture against the outer face of the upper tile or tiles, and the lower portion of the bracket inner or mounting arm 26 against the rear face of the lower tile or tiles.

In view of the foregoing it is believed there has been disclosed a mechanism that readily accomplishes the objects initially set forth.

What is claimed is:

1. A wall fixture mounting bracket for mounting a wall fixture on a grouted tiled wall the combination with a pair of tiles in alignment and having opposed relatively plane surfaces with grout therebetween, of a bracket substantially H-shaped in cross-section and comprising a transverse member located between said plane surfaces of said aligned tiles with said transverse member of no greater thickness than the thickness of the grout between the tiles, a wall fixture mounting plate connected at a point intermediate two opposite edges thereof to said transverse member with said mounting plate projecting above and below said transverse member and on the exterior surface of said tiles, and a mounting arm connected at a point intermediate two opposite edges thereof to the other end of the transverse member and with said mounting arm projecting above and below said transverse member, said mounting plate and mounting arm being spaced a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the tiles to provide channels between said mounting arm and the mounting plate on opposite sides of the transverse member respectively receiving one of the aligned tiles.

2. A wall fixture mounting bracket for mounting a. wall fixture on a grouted tiled wall the combination with a pair of tiles in alignment and having opposed relatively plane surfaces with grout therebetween, of a bracket substantially H-shaped in cross-section and comprising a transverse member located between said plane surfaces of said aligned tiles with said transverse member of no greater thickness than the thickness of thegrout between.

the tiles, a wall fixture mounting plate connected at a point intermediate two opposite edges thereof to said transverse member with said mounting plate projecting above and below said transverse member and on the exterior-surface of said tiles, a mounting arm connected at a point intermediate two opposite edges thereof to the other end of the transverse member and with said mounting arm projecting above and below said transverse member, said mounting plate and mounting arm being spaced a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the tiles to provide channels between said mounting arm and the mounting plate on opposite sides of the transverse member respectively receiving one of the aligned tiles, and means at the opposite edges of said mounting plate for attaching thereto a wall fixture.

3. A wall fixture mounting bracket for mounting a wall fixture on a grouted tiled wall the combination with a pair of tiles in alignment and having opposed relatively plane surfaces with grout therebetween, of a bracket substantially H-shaped in cross-section and comprising a transverse member located between said plane surfaces of said aligned tiles with said transverse member of no greater thickness than the thickness of the grout between the tiles, a wall fixture mounting plate connected at a point intermediate two opposite edges thereof to said transverse member with said mounting plate projecting above and below said transverse member and on the exterior surface of said tiles, and a mounting arm connected at a point intermediate two opposite edges thereof to the other end of the transverse member and with said mounting arm projecting above and below said transverse member, said mounting plate and mounting arm being spaced a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the tiles to provide channels between said mounting arm and the mounting plate on opposite sides of the transverse member respectively receiving one of the aligned tiles, and said mounting plate having its said two opposite edges converging in the direction of the tiles surfaces.

4. A wall fixture mounting bracket for mounting a wall fixture on a grouted tiled wall the combination with a pair of tiles in alignment and having opposed relatively plane surfaces with grout therebetween, of a bracket substantially H-shaped in cross-section and comprising a transverse member located between said plane surfaces of said aligned tiles with said transverse member of no greater thickness than the thickness of the grout between the tiles, a wall fixture mounting plate connected at a point intermediate two opposite edges thereof to said transverse member with said mounting plate projecting above and below said transverse member and on the exterior surface of said tiles, and a mounting arm connected at a point intermediate two opposite edges thereof to the other end of the transverse member and with said mounting arm projecting above and below said transverse member, said mounting plate and mounting arm being spaced a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the tiles to provide channels between said mounting arm and the mounting plate on opposite sides of the transverse member respectively receiving one of the aligned tiles, and said mounting plate having a lug upstanding from one of its said two opposite edges and having the other of said two opposite edges inwardly inclined for attaching thereto a wall fixture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,826,419 Butkus Oct. 6, 1931 1,887,641 Hoegger Nov. 15, 1932 1,940,888 Smith Dec. 26, 1933 2,053,843 Rossi Sept. 8, 1936 2,059,858 Ernst Nov. 3, 1936 2,315,955 Hallenscheid Apr. 6, 1943 2,320,480 Stagg June 1, 1943 

